GREEN REAL ESTATE PREDICTIONS FOR 2011

I came just came across an interesting article by Jim Simco, and I thought I would share it.

GREEN REAL ESTATE PREDICTIONS FOR 2011

by Jim Simcoe

In less than 24 hours 2010 will be over and a new year of real estate investment opportunities and challenges will begin. In regards to green real estate, here are my predictions for 2011 (in no order):

1. Green Value will replace Green Hype. 2010 was the last year we’ll see people largely add green elements to their projects just for the heck of it. Value is starting to trump hype (even in California) and that trend will continue on 2011. Investors/buyers/homeowners won’t pursue green unless they have a fairly accurate prediction of the ROI.

2. In green building certification circles, Energy Star overtakes LEED. LEED has always been the 800 pound gorilla in the green building certification market. However the actual value to the end user/buyer of a LEED certified building is beginning to wane. LEED costs more, takes longer and is more paperwork intensive than Energy Star. LEED is a clunky old PC running Windows 3.1. Energy Star is an iPad.

3. ROI measurement becomes easier for investors. New technologies and data on recent projects make it much easier for an investor to project the return on any green building method/equipment. For example, a few years ago it was difficult to quantify the true cost savings on utility bills (and thus value to an end buyer) of blowing closed cell insulation into walls. You’d get a range, say between 30-70% savings. Not exactly a great way to forecast. Now with a few quick calculations and a cursory knowledge of building envelop design you can get to a very accurate projection, often within 10%.

4. Opportunity is rapidly becoming obligation. I’ve written about this before but it is getting more prevalent now. Sellers/Property Owners (investors or not) are getting squeezed by 2 distinct groups. First, City/State/Federal legislators who are increasingly enacting green building codes for new AND existing buildings. Second, buyers/renters who are becoming more ‘green’ educated and are demanding more green features. Both groups are putting added pressure on investors to address green in their projects.

5. Green products-faster, cheaper, more abundant. More than ever there are a plethora of green building products on the market. These products are often higher quality and lower priced than their non-green competitors. For real estate investors this couldn’t have come at a better time. You can now green a project without having to overspend on materials or equipment.

6. In 2010, approximately 40%* of your target market (buyers/renters) understood the value of paying more for green homes/apartments and were willing to pay a premium for those amenities. That number should double in 2011. It has become much easier for buyers/renters to see the quantifiable difference in value of buying/renting a green home vs. a traditional home. It now makes more sense to get a green home than not.

*Based on a very unscientific study of what I’ve observed in the last year as I’ve worked on projects all over the US.

Great post JP, building green will be the norm very soon. EnergyStar is leading the way, while LEED originally started in commercial but is catching up on Residential. There is also the NAHB green build program.

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